New center opens at Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth[(AP) New Lewis and Clark Center to house General Staff College:][1] More than 200 years after their expedition passed on the Missouri River below, heading into the unknown prospects of the Louisiana Purchase, explorers Lewis and Clark's names are again linked to the future. On Monday, Army officials dedicated the $115 million Lewis and Clark Center, home of the Army's Command and General Staff College. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV also inducted Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in Fort Leavenworth's hall of fame for their accomplishment, joining the ranks of leaders such as Gens. George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, Creighton Abrams and Colin Powell. Descendants of the explorers said they were humbled by the honors bestowed on Lewis and Clark, whose journey would have been visible from the center's site as it went along the Missouri River and headed toward the Pacific Ocean. The expedition concluded in 1806.Fort Riley[(York Pa. Daily Record) A friend by her side:][2] Lisa and her husband, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Neil Santoriello, really wanted a dog, never guessing the chocolate lab's future value. "He's my buddy," Lisa Santoriello said. "If it weren't for that dog, I would not have gotten through Neil's death." She spoke from Fort Irwin in California, where she was renewing the bonds with friends she had made when her husband was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. Lisa Santoriello didn't want the dog after learning her husband would be going to war. What would she do with him? He told her he didn't care. She would have a dog. Neil Santoriello made a game of naming their pet. He insisted it be named after an American Indian warrior.Kansas National Guard[(Garden City Telegram) A final salute:][3] Amber Bachman paused in front of her husband's casket Saturday. She reached out, shaking, momentarily afraid to touch the cool lid. Her fingertips graced the top of the casket as she bent down and kissed it. Her forehead pressed against the shiny metallic cover. She hunched over and wept. The funeral of Sgt. 1st Class Travis Bachman began Saturday at First Southern Baptist Church, 2708 N. Third St., with a tribute to the man he was, and ended with the thanks of a nation. "Your family has paid the highest price payable for our freedoms," said the Rev. Rick Durham. "Thank you." Bachman, 30, of the Kansas National Guard, was killed Aug. 1 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery and was serving in Iraq with the 714th Security Forces, Topeka, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. [1]: www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/14/new_lewis_and_clark_center_house_general_staff_col/ [2]: www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_6611264 [3]: testing.gctelegram.com/view.cgi?cat=News&state=story&id=139451